S: Holy whiskey! Sweet, inviting barrel presence here. Hints of vanilla, mild espresso and dark chocolate. Some would suggest this is too over-the-top, but I like the boldness of this nose. Very inviting!

T: Complex, rich, and smooth. Mostly warming whiskey notes here from the barrel, but a unique mix of chocolate, dark/roasted malt, vanilla, and coffee. Touch of dark fruit and toffee fade near the back, but this beer is well executed. The barrel is articulately pronounced, but beautifully warms the soul.

M: Full bodied with almost silent carbonation.

O: Granted this beer is still quite young (I think it was only released recently), but the Kilbeggan barrel comes thru so pronounced and well executed it is impossible to forget. It could stand to mellow a bit, but I thoroughly enjoy the boldness all around. Its brother beer (the regular Celebration Stout) is top-notch, but this one rises above as a result of maturing in a beautiful cask. Bravo! Can't wait to see how this one ages.

Pull tab top from a 330ml bottle given to me by the same Irish lad noted below a couple times. Poured into a Duvel tulip which revealed a light tan head of a half an inch. Body is deep black with a little red coming through when held to the light. Aroma is quite fantastic that is sweet with chocolate and dates. The vanilla really comes through but I'm not picking up any whiskey. Flavor is not as sweet with more sourness to it. One of the best finishing flavors I have had. Alcohol comes through a little but about as expected with 11%. Still dominated by chocolate. Mouthfeel is right where you want it, full and creamy with moderate carbonation.

Overall, a fine barrel aged stout that I would enjoy anytime without complaint. I would use it as an example of the style.

330ml bottle, thanks to the rep for the sample. Right up my alley, as I likes me the Kilbeggan Irish spirit (among others), as my dad and I finished off their 18-year old single malt over the course of this year.

After having to resort to using pliers to remove that stupid metal strip cap, this beer pours a solid black, with slight basal cola highlights, and one chubby finger of densely foamy, and kind of bubbly mocha head, which leaves a low ebbing ring of lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells fairly provocatively of whiskey right off the bat - vanilla, caramel, soused grainy wood, and a wee bit of linseed oil - with roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, black licorice, dark ripe fruit, and a dry, faintly musty hoppiness prowling the underlying layer, ready to push through. The taste is medium baker's chocolate, swirled in a glass of Eire's finest elixir - the sugary, mildly nutty cocoa not quite meshing with the sweetness of the caramel/toffee, vanilla extract, and hovering alcohol, but rather hitting you with both barrels all at once. Again falling below, but nipping from beneath, are some candied licorice, Coca-Cola syrup, fleshy black orchard fruit, and plundered earthy, musty hops, all varying in their intensity, but not in their supportive effect.

The effervescence is pretty low-key, sedate, and just barely structural, the body medium-heavy in weight, and smooth in a boozy Cognac-infused chocolate kind of way. It finishes sweet, but not egregiously so, the various stout malt and whiskey barrel sensibilities keeping it down to an agreeable din, as the hops really don't have much bearing at all.

Leave it to a veritable, real-live Irish craft brewer to marry their biggest stout with an Irish whiskey barrel, and have the results favour the barrel, a thing I have heretofore yet to see, the spirit in question being so soft and unimposing and all, isn't it? Very nice to see Ireland's two best beverage options all rolled into one single serving. Ok, ok, I'll have some Irish Breakfast tea later (or likely early tomorrow) to round out the real trifecta.

Stunner. By not trying to be an RIS (in spite of the tagging, it's labeled as and very much is an Imperial Irish) like every other big B-A'd stout, this loses a lot of the sugar and so ends up much cleaner and bolder. I'd love to see this with some age on it.

A dark brown with a deep cola edge, two finger mocha heads a little noisy and falls rather fast leaving just a few random spots of lace

S big whiskey nose with some vanilla, oak, char, booze, coco, licorice root and a little cola and dark fruits add to the mix, pretty complex stuff without much of the smokey notes from bourbon or the peat from a scotch barrel, nice choice with the Kilbeggan

T more char in the mouth and some cold coffee I didn't smell, everything I smells still there and only booze holds this one back, slightly spicy and the licorice gets darker as it warms

M not that thick for a big ass stout like this and its a little hot but it almost reminds you this was aged in a whiskey cask, a bitter kick and almost numbs the lips with just a little left behind and a long boozy dark roast finish

O very nice barrel choice and I'm impressed by how dominant the barrel notes really are, the booze is keeping this from being a world class brew.

I might be buying a few of these because for a 18$ 4 pack its a bargain in these parts. I'm curious to how old this is because the BB date 13/8/13 isn't all that far away all things considered. This one needs age and its "Best Before" date I doubt is accurate, buy it and cellar

I got this bottle together with another stout of this brewer from my buddy Bryan when we met at the CBC festival in Kopenhagen. Tonight i opened this as my first bottle and i am honest when i say that this beer really surprised me!

Poured in a dutch beerglass the beer looks OK, nice deepdarkbrown fluid with a one finger head which looks ans feels creamy. Good start.

Smelled some light coffe hints but also some oranges and slightly some vanille.

Very drinkable because the alcohol is very well hidden. Balanced beer and not too heavy like some others. Thanks to my buddy Bryan who lives in Dublin i got to drink this beer.

Appearance. Pours a deep dark brown, pretty close to black in the glass and topped with half a finger of light tan head.

Smell. Dark malts and dark chocolate, some molasses and caramel.

Taste. Again dark malts and dark chocolate, smooth whiskey, a little bit of molasses and old wood, and a trace of roasted nuts. A little bit of alcohol, but nothing to complain about when the abv is this high. Nice level of whiskey, nothing too strong or offensive.

Mouthfeel. Medium-full body, medium-low carbonation.

Overall. Nothing especially amazing, but really nothing bad about this stout which is what makes it nice. Easy drinking for what it is and nothing offensive about it. I would drink it again.